Varsity Football welcomes KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo in 2018

11 July 2018 – The sixth edition of Varsity Football promises to be the hottest ever with a rejuvenated focus on Women’s Football, the rejoining of UL (University of Limpopo), and UKZN (University of KwaZulu-Natal) entering the tournament for the first time.

UL re-join the competition after being relegated in 2014 and the men in baby blue will be eager to show what the competition has been missing. Varsity Football is particularly excited about UKZN qualifying for the tournament for the first time, considering the massive following the sport has in KwaZulu-Natal.

UP-Tuks (University of Pretoria) dominated Varsity Football in the competition’s short history with the Pretoria team winning three titles in five years, with UWC (University of the Western Cape) and TUT (Tshwane University of Technology) winning the other two. Lots will be expected from newcomers UKZN, who won the 2018 USSA event, after defeating NWU 4-2 in the final.

Varsity Football manager Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi is ecstatic about the duo’s promotion to Varsity Football.

“We congratulate first-time qualifier UKZN and the returning UL for their promotion to Varsity Football. The two teams represent football-mad regions and we are excited about what they will bring to the table.”

Nesi also thanked the sponsors for their unwavering support.

“The support of our sponsors has been imperative to the success of this tournament. With the support of FNB, Debonairs Pizza and Samsung we can produce a world-class tournament, with its own style and detail.”

Varsity Women’s Football will be in the much-deserved limelight after a series of captivating seasons, with the some of the players going onto gain national honours.

USC CEO Flip van Zyl is proud of the development Varsity Women’s Football has made and is excited about further achievements he believes are well on the way.

“One of the biggest announcements that we are making this year, is that Varsity Women’s Football is now officially a sponsored sports code. Previously, the USC invested funds into this tournament and it is evident that the investment has paid off, as the South African women’s football team performed extremely well at the World Student Games in Chinese Taipei last year.”

Varsity Football is a seven-round tournament, excluding the final two rounds which include the semi-final and final. The competition will kick-off with NWU (North-West University) taking on UWC at 16:00 at the Mafikeng Stadium, UP-Tuks will then host TUT at 18:15, UJ (University of Johannesburg) plays UL at 18:30 at their Soweto Campus and UKZN will play their first ever Varsity Football game when they host Wits (Wits University) at 18:30 on 26 July Howard College Rugby Stadium. Selected games will be televised live throughout the season on SuperSport Channels 204 and 210.